Tag Archives: George Orwell

Tyranny of Bureaucracies

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Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

In a recent article I wrote about how the Founding Fathers would be astonished at how we have allowed our freedoms to be curtailed by Big Government. If you have never read the novel, 1984 by George Orwell, now would be a good time to do so. Re-reading that book would also be useful if it has been awhile since you have done so. The theme of the book, written in the 1940s, relates how Big Government increasingly controlled people’s lives. With modern technology the effects can be even scarier.

One of the greatest threats is from ever expanding government agencies which actually have the power to implement rules and regulations that limit our freedom. For example, the Empire State Building in New York City was built in eighteen months. The approval process to build anything substantial today takes years; primarily, because of all the agencies that must give their approval. Consider the natural gas pipeline that that has been a part of the recent debt limit negotiations between the Biden administration and the Republican House of Representatives. The federal agencies that must review and give their approval consist of the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, National Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, etc. There may also be state agencies that must approve. The review and approval process has no time frame. The construction may also be challenged in court by various groups. It is a wonder anything gets built in this country. Of course, this central control is right out of the Marxist playbook.

Let me give a more mundane example of bureaucratic tyranny. I own a 2016 Ram diesel truck that I use primarily for towing my RV. Two weeks ago, a warning code appeared on the dashboard indicating that the DEF (diesel emission fluid) system was not working properly and that I should take the truck to the dealer. I received an estimated repair cost of $3,000. Being somewhat of a do it yourself mechanic, I decided to fix it myself. Problem #1: no parts supplier in the New Bern area carried the DEF pump that I needed; nor could they order it from their usual vendor of repair parts. Problem #2: And this is the worst issue. The warning message stated that in 150 more miles the truck would not be able to operate at more than five miles per hour! Imagine being far from home and limping along at that speed–an almost guaranteed accident!

How did this restriction and control of the use of your own vehicle occur? Well, apparently, some government agency, (e.g. EPA) has required that manufacturers install computer programs that shut down your engine when you are violating one of their rules regardless of the negative impact on your safety and freedom to use your vehicle. Now this tyrannical control is only possible using modern computer modules. Add GPS monitoring, and they can control your speed, how far you travel, where you travel, etc.

This is where we are heading. We need to wake up and resist this tyranny. We need a president and elected officials who will fight this type of unconstitutional control of our lives. I am sure there are many other examples. President Trump, when he was in office, had the right idea when he instructed federal agencies under his control that they were required to eliminate two regulations for every new one they proposed. This was at least a start. Significantly cutting the budgets of these out of control federal agencies would also help. The Founding Fathers would never have put up with this. Why are we?

Changing The Rules And The Labels In The Middle Of The Game

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On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article about the new term for fully vaccinated.

The article reports:

With booster shots being increasingly pushed and many institutions now requiring them, the term “fully vaccinated” is being replaced, according to White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“We’re using the terminology now ‘keeping your vaccinations up to date,’ rather than what ‘fully vaccinated’ means,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Tuesday. “Right now, optimal protection is with a third shot of an mRNA or a second shot of a J&J.”

The article continues:

Much like the definition of ‘fully vaccinated,’ government officials have also changed the way vaccine mandates are discussed, preferring to use “requirements” instead. 

“Mandates—that’s a radioactive word. Requirements—people seem to respond better to that,” Fauci told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last month. “They work. We are never going to get out of this outbreak if we still have 50 million people who for reasons that are still very, very difficult to understand refuse to get vaccinated when you have a virus that’s killed 800,000 Americans and caused 50 million infections so if people still do not want to get vaccinated sometimes you have to for the common good make requirements.”

In the book 1984, we are introduced to Newspeak.

A website called Majestic Grades notes:

…Orwell created newspeak, the official language of Oceania, to illustrate how language can corrupt thought and prove that totalitarian systems use language to restrict instead of broadening ideas. For instance, freedom cannot exist without a word for freedom.

The deep state is an expert at newspeak.